Burnt New Diamond VLCC patched up

The hole in one of the bunker compartments of the burnt out New Diamond VLCC has been plugged, a deballasting operation concluded, and the ship has been towed further away from the Sri Lankan coastline. A bunker spill was detected from the aft of the 20-year-old ship last week.
The tanker, belonging to Adam Polemis’s New Shipping, suffered a boiler explosion and a subsequent severe fire on September 3 that raged on and off for a number of days. One seafarer died in the accident.
A team of specialists has been aboard the ship today to assess damages to the vessel and to collect oil and fuel samples for analysis.
The crew of the ship has been interviewed by Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department over the weekend, the findings of which have been sent to a judge who is presiding over the case.